The NWN had a chance to sit down with head boys basketball coach Bob Williams to talk about the season, the team, and how far the Wolves will go this season.
NWN: How does the team look this year?
Williams: The team looks good this year. We’ve been working really hard, we’ve had great off-season work, and even though seniors Alek Biser and Nathan Sagget aren’t on the court to start the year [due to injury], they are doing a great job of leading off the court.
NWN: How are the injured players recovering?
Williams: Both Biser and Sagget are walking, hopefully they can play in the next two to three weeks. Initially they were supposed to be out longer, but they’ve both worked so hard in rehab that they should probably be on the court within three weeks
NWN: What are some key games on the schedule this season?
Williams: We start the season playing in our own tournament, and those games are always big, and then right after that is the (Niles) North game. But I cant really say that any games are the biggest games for us, we play in such a tough conference that every game is big.
NWN: Who are the key contributors on the team?
Williams: As I said before our two injured co-captains Biser and Sagget will be key this season, but adding on to that we have DJ Harris our only other returning senior, Alex Darville a junior who hasnt practiced yet but will make an impact, and a transfer student from Loyola named David McCoy. McCoy started two straight years at Loyola, which should give us some of the experience we need while our other players are injured.
NWN: What are the teams strengths and weaknesses?
Williams: We are athletics, we pay attention to detail, we push the pace, and we have good pressure defense which are all strengths of the team. The only weakness I can see is that we’re not a very big team to begin with, and with Biser out, we’re going to have a hard time inside fighting for rebounds.
The boys basketball season starts tonight with the 38th Bill Schnurr Tournament at Niles West. The team plays at 4:30.
